Post History

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/46457
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I started writing a novel directly tied to my background in which the protagonist and her surrounding environment have many characteristics in common with mine.

As I wrote the first chapter, I realized that my novel idea is heavily dependent on racial and cultural themes around immigration, cultural integration and belonging.

After some thinking, I now have this fear that, on the slight chance my novel becomes a success, I'll be boxed into the "minority novelist who wrote something inspiring and worthy of celebration" type, and I honestly don't want that.

There's nothing wrong with writing a story that celebrates one's background and sheds light on a segment long ignored by mainstream media and popular culture, but I have other stories to tell and am afraid that my first novel might box me into something **I don’t want to be wholly defined by for the rest of my writing career**.

To overcome this, I had the idea of stripping away these cultural themes and narrating **what the protagonist did, not where she’s from**. I hence changed the novel’s genre (from romance to thriller) and main character’s name and background. **However, the ending will be the same if I decide to move in either direction**.

Are my fears valid and did I make the right decision changing the story? Has anyone faced a similar challenge?

Original score: 13